“Okruashvili was my biggest mistake,” ex-president and current presidential candidate Mikheil Saakashvili said, referring to his once closest ally and former defense minister.

Saakashvili was responding to a late night Rustavi 2 political talk show host, who had asked him what his biggest mistake had been.

Okruashvili is currently in custody in Germany, where he was arrested in late November following a Georgian request for his extradition. The German courts must make a decision on the matter before January 6.

Meanwhile, Okruashvili’s lawyer, Eka Beselia, said on December 27 that her client had requested political asylum in France. The request, she explained, was made because Okruashvili had arrived in Europe on a visa issued by the French embassy in Tbilisi.

Okruashvili launched his opposition party on September 25 but he was arrested two days later and charged with large-scale bribery through extortion, money laundering and negligence while serving as minister. Later, he was released on GEL 10 million bail. On November 1, Okruashvili, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office, was allowed to travel to Germany “for medical treatment.” Okruashvili, however, subsequently alleged that he had been forced onto the plane and sent to Germany against his will.